NFL Player Comes to Rescue of Airline Passenger

Arizona Cardinals tight end Jermaine Gresham (84) during the first half of an NFL football game against the Los Angeles Rams, Sunday, Dec. 3, 2017, in Glendale, Ariz. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri)

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Delilah Cassidy was having just about the worst day of her life when a kind stranger stepped in and helped—and that kind stranger just so happened to be an NFL star, according to BleacherReport. Cassidy was at the airport attempting to get on a flight when she was told by an American Airlines gate agent that she would have to pay a carry-on fee. She consolidated her belongings into one bag, but no luck. The bag was too big, and she would have to pay $50. Trouble was, she only had cash, and the airline only took credit cards. Cassidy had just returned from Europe and her bank, unaware that she was back, was declining her credit cards. The airline rep told her she needed to go back and pay at the ticket counter, which would mean missing her flight.

“I’m pleading, devastated after a long day of travel,” she posted on Twitter. “Then, this man walks up and says, 'How much is it?' They tell him $50 and he says 'I got it.'" Once on the plane, she tried to repay him with cash, but “he just shook me off and told me to pay it forward,” she wrote. Cassidy later found out that the good Samaritan was Arizona Cardinals tight end Jermaine Gresham, and posted a picture of herself posing with him, reports ESPN. Gresham caught 33 passes for 322 yards last year. Cassidy is a recent Arizona State University graduate who studied sports business and journalism, according to USA Today, but she had never met Gresham before and didn't realize he was her Good Samaritan until after the flight. The tweet of her photo has been liked more than 39,000 times so far. (To read about another unexpected act of kindness, click here.)